The Sound Ecologies Chamber Orchestra presents Orchestramania III at the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis under the direction of conductor Elliott Lentz.

This event will feature six new works by Indiana Composers including works by Frank Felice, John Berners, D.S. Isaac, Matthew Rhoad, and Ron Funkhouser. 

Sound Ecologies is an Indianapolis-based music artist collective and nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating music, community, and conservation. Its roots trace back to informal jam sessions Luke and Charissa Garrigus held with friends during their undergraduate years at the University of Indianapolis. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, that circle became something more ambitious: alongside fellow musicians Rob Funkhouser, Brenna Green and Logan Purcell, they incorporated Sound Ecologies as a volunteer-powered organization committed to commissioning and performing new classical and contemporary concert music with paying its artists as a founding principle rather than an afterthought.

The name Sound Ecologies carries a double meaning. It points to the organization's mission of using music to represent and drive social change, particularly around environmental issues while also describing the kind of musical environment the collective is trying to grow: a rich, interconnected, and sustaining ecosystem for composers and performers to create and be heard. As Garrigus has put it, "sound" can also mean stable, or of good quality which serves as a quiet nod to the kind of community the organization hopes to build.

Since incorporating, Sound Ecologies has commissioned and premiered more than 120 new works by Indiana-based composers, staging recitals, chamber concerts, and orchestral performances across the city. From churches and university concert series to the Indiana Historical Society's Basile Theatre and the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis, the Sound Ecologies Chamber Orchestra performs world premieres under conductor Elliott Lentz. The organization’s recurring artist series has become one of its most visible projects, pairing local performers with new music from Indiana composers.

True to its founding mission, Sound Ecologies regularly partners beyond the concert hall, collaborating with environmental and community organizations such as the Indiana Audubon Society, Indiana Native Plants, the Indiana Astronomical Society, and UIndy Gardens. The organization also runs a publication partnership program supporting first-time authors, and works with Indianapolis-based sound engineers to record and archive the new music it premieres. 

Today, Sound Ecologies operates alongside a growing roster of composers, performers, and collaborators all working toward a shared vision: music not as a passive backdrop, but as a living, sound-based ecosystem in service of community and conservation.